Rising Gate
by Kaito Lune
Summary: A return trip to the Sadida Kingdom soon becomes an adventure as Yugo, Adamai, and Amalia find a runaway eliatrope child. With the problem of the Eliacube being somewhere out in the world, the three begin searching for it only to find themselves stepping farther into a plan that could bring about a new chaos to the World of Twelve.
1. Chapter 1

Rising Gate

Chapter 1: Of Old Friends

Potted plants sat outside doorways, welcoming non-existent visitors from the vacant, snow-blanketed streets. How long such a scene had last would be anybody's guess, but all would agree that even an iop would understand that something was amiss. After an undetermined amount of time, a visitor finally appeared at the gates, a blue portal closing behind him. He pulled his hood farther over his eyes as he entered the ghost-town.

Instantaneously, he felt the chill that had seeped through his cloak dissipated. He paused for a moment to look around, analyzing everything that his eyes fell upon, but he saw nothing that tipped him off that someone else was there. So, he shut his eyes and emptied his mind, focusing on anything and everything around him. Slowly, the closest buildings painted themselves blue against the black of his mind and blue streams of wakfu flowed beneath his feet. Again, he looked around.

This time, he noticed something. Whole figures, standing around like ghosts frozen in time. Gasping, the stranger stepped back and opened his eyes. No figures stood in the street. Relaxing his body, he frowned. "Weird," he said.

He closed his eyes again to get a look at the figures, but no silhouettes of blue appeared in his mind. The stranger's frown deepened, scratching the back of his hood. "Where'd they go?" Keeping an eye out for any of the figures, he began exploring the town. He knocked on doors and examined the plants that sad next to the doors and windows. Every plant he saw were ones he hadn't seen survive outside during the winter months, even in the Sadida Kingdom that was known for creating such plants to keep their woodland kingdom colorful all year around. He opened his eyes and picked a flower from one of the pots by an open door.

He spun it in his hand for a second before putting it in his satchel. A friend could look at the little flower for him—not a problem—he thought with a half-smile. Then, he sighed. She might think that it's a gift for her to wear. The stranger stood, adjusting his hood again. He peeked his head into the doorway, examining the room with both is eyes and wakfu senses. Nothing. Frowning, he entered the home, calling out, "Hello?" But no noise alerted his ears of anything being there.

Sighing, he scoured the rest of the house for any signs of life besides the potted flowers outside. After he found no sign of life, he moved on to the next house. For several more hours, he saw nothing but more potted flowers and the wakfu streams buried deep under the ground. The stranger stepped out of the last empty house. "Where could have they gone?" he wondered, looking up at the sky and folding his arms.

The sun gleamed barely above the walls of the village's walls, casting the street into shadows. Soon, night would descend and he didn't know how much protection the enchanted area could offer against the winter chill. So, he went back to the village's gates. He removed his gloves, exposing them to the cold just an inch outside of the gates. His palms glowed blue and two disk-shaped portals appeared before each hand. He threw one a good mile away before entering the one that remained in front of him. For the entire trip to the closest city, he never touched the snow as he entered portals for a short distance trip, all of which were a mile each.

By the time he reached his half-way point, the cloaked stranger felt his energy had sapped from him, leaving him to shorten the distance to a quarter of a mile. By the time he reached the city, the sun had set and the world had taken a colder turn. By then, the gates had closed to keep out unwelcome guests like the local bears or thieves. Using his portals, though, this little problem was nothing he couldn't handle. Once over the gates, he walked through the slushy streets until he came to the inn where he had and his dragon-brother had acquired a room for the night. Plus someone else.

He automatically stopped, his hood-ears perked up in surprise as he drew behind the wall in hopes that the unexpected occupant hadn't seen him. Though it was rather iopish of him to leave the door open like he had. But then again, if he had shut it, they would have heard the door close. And-

"Yugo?" called the young woman in the room.

"Has to be," said Yugo's dragon-brother. He then laughed before calling for the cloaked young man. "Come on, Yugo! It's just Amalia. There's no need for you to hide!"

Yugo sighed, adjusting his hood before entering the room with a wide smile. "Amalia, what a...strange surprise," he said, hoping his voice didn't betray how surprised he was. Amalia folded her arms and gave him a half-frown.

"Why did you hide, Yugo?" she asked. Her curious gaze turned into a leer. "It's been a while."

Giving a guilty chuckle, Yugo entered the room. "Sorry, but I've had somethings to-"

The sadida held up a hand to silence him as she put the other hand on her hip. Yugo quickly averted his eyes to her face. She dropped her other hand before she said, "You could have at least sent me a letter."

Again, Yugo chuckled nervously. He didn't have any excuse for that, so he didn't even try make one. Instead, he closed the door behind him and took off his thick cloak, allowing it to fall on the floor behind him. He walked over to the chair by the stove. "Ad, when did Amalia get here?"

"This afternoon," Adamai responded, looking over at his brother. Then, a wicked smile crossed his face. "We've had a nice chat about things you've been up to." The smile faded slightly from Yugo's face as he furrowed his eyebrows at Adamai. Before his mind could connect the dots, the sadida spoke.

"Yugo, you can't have a princess try to track you down because you couldn't keep contact with me," she said, arms folded again. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to track you?"

Yugo shrugged. "Pretty hard, I guess, but I'm sure you could ask a few of the cra warriors to do it for you." Amalia raised an eyebrow, as if he had suggested something rather radical and unfitting for a princess. Realizing what he said, he quickly added, "But I'm really glad you made the trip."

Smiling, Amalia nodded. "Thank you," she said. She sat back down on the bed next to Adamai and crossed her legs. She straightened her back as she looked over at him.

"So, what have you found?" asked Adamai.

Yugo shrugged again as he pulled the shushu-possesed map and the little flower from his satchel. He presented the flower to his friend and said, "I found this at an abandoned village."

Amalia cocked her head as she rose to get a closer look at the flower. "A camellia?" she asked before taking the flower and giving him a suspicious look. "It's really too cold to grow these." She rose to her full height and twirled the flower by its stem. "Are you sure you didn't find it at a greenhouse?"

Yugo nodded. Adamai approached the two before requesting the flower from Amalia. He looked it over, smelling it. "It doesn't seem so extraordinary," he said. "Where did you find this, Yugo?"

"The village," he said, before leaning back in the chair. "It's just like in the other ones where we went earlier, Ad."

The dragon looked at the flower, narrowing his eyes. "Warm weather in winter, snow in summer."

"Entire towns abandoned as if people had disappeared." Yugo frowned.

Amalia shivered. "Disappeared? Like ghosts?"

"Well, it's definitely not ghouls singing pandawa bar songs." Yugo looked over at Amalia, before sitting up. He cleared his throat. "Ad, can ghosts have wakfu and still not be seen?"

Adamai folded his arms as he furrowed his brows. "I dunno," he admitted. "I haven't seen any ghosts to see their wakfu. In fact, it never crossed my mind." The dragon looked over at Yugo with a chuckle. "Maybe I'll ask some the next time we run from them."

"Well," Amalia said. She bent down to retrieve the flower from Adamai and placed it in her hair before she walked over to the bed and gingerly leaped on to it, laid down, and crossed her legs. "I hope we don't have to cross paths with ghosts."

Yugo rose and looked at her as she pouted slightly, probably at the idea of running into ghosts. He smiled. "I'm sure we won't find them, Ami," he said.

"Yeah, but ghost towns tend to have ghosts," she responded, raising her arms into the air and then dropping them at her sides.

Yugo walked over to the bed and looked down at the girl in the eyes. "How much trouble are you going to be in when your dad finds you?"

"I don't know," she said with a half-laugh. "Maybe being stuck in my room for a year." The tinkle of her laugh made Yugo smile slightly. He then heard a snicker and looked back. Adamai had a small smirk on his face.

Clearing his throat, Yugo's smile shifted. "So, a year, huh? How long have you been searching for me?"

"Long enough to get sick of gruel and swamps and winter as a whole," she muttered.

"That really doesn't take too long, does it?" Adamai said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Amalia sat up and pouted slightly and glowered at the dragon. Adamai smiled before turning to his brother. "Hey, Yugo, you hungry?" Yugo nodded. After some time of persuading Amalia, the three went down to eat. Amalia had to be talked into actually eating the hot porridge that the chef had offered for a splurge for a slice of apple pie. Yugo sighed as he gave the kamas for the pie as Amalia smiled contentedly.

"You've become just as stingy as Ruel," she mused.

"We aren't all born with a silver spoon in our mouths." Amalia made a slight pout as she pulled out her own wallet.

"I don't have a bottomless pocket of money, Yugo," she said. "Making journeys tend to take a lot out of a limited supply of money."

"That's really true."

The apple pie came, and the two brothers sat in silence as Amalia ate the food brought to her. Half-way through her food, she looked up at Yugo. "So, have you met anyone?"

"Ah?" he inquired, looking up. When Amalia repeated her sentence, Yugo looked down quickly. "No, not really."

Amalia pointed her fork at him with a teasing smile. "No cursed princesses or crazy Black Ravens?"

Yugo shook his head. "No, no one like that. You?"

"No."

Adamai looked between the two, frowned slightly and threw his hands into the air. "Some people," he mumbled.

The table grew quiet. Yugo watched her eat for a few minutes before he looked down at the empty bowl in front of him. He frowned slightly. When was the last time he had good-tasting food like his fathers? Yugo's ear-like features on his hood lowered at the thought of his adoptive father and his little brothers.

Adamai swallowed a mouthful of porridge and asked, "How has Alibert, Chibi, and Grougaloragran been?"

The princess swallowed her food. "They've been pretty good, but that darned dragon burned the tips of my hair!" She pulled a lock of her hair over her shoulder and showed them a lock that was barely even touched. She noted the look on Yugo and Adamai's face. "What, do you think I'd leave my hair singed?"

Yugo shrugged. Adamai sighed. "He still hasn't changed."

"You're right," she huffed, tossing the lock back over her shoulder and stuffing the rest of her apple pie into her mouth.

After she finished, the three went to return to the room. As they walked down the hall, Adamai caught up to the sadida. "So...Amalia, what are you thinking now? Are you going to be going back home now that you found me and Yugo?"

Amalia stopped and looked down at the dragon. "Are you ridiculous?!" Adamai stepped back a little. "I'm not going back home yet when I just found you two!"

Yugo blinked before he caught up with the two. "What about-?"

"No way," she said, crossing her arms. She looked at Yugo in the eye, saying, "I am not trailing back home in the middle of winter without a bodyguard. Besides, it's way too stuffy at home with Armand being cooped up, itching for a fight."

Yugo gulped. "Well...okay then," he said. He passed her, unsure of what really to say. So, he opened the door and offered her the chance to walk in first. Amalia smiled and walked into the room. He followed and the two readied for bed. Each took their own turns to change, Yugo having to make sure that the nightcap to cover his head-wings were secured. Adamai, of course, shook his head at the insistence from his brother to make sure that Amalia didn't have a chance to see them. Since there were two beds, Adamai and Yugo had to cram into one while Amalia took the other.

After he put out the lamp, Yugo looked over at Amalia's sleeping figure. He had to admit, it was rather strange she came all this way just to find him. Yugo smiled. She ran away so often from her home just to visit him or the rest of their comrades since the end of their grand adventure. Even before that, he had met her when she had left home to head out on her own adventure. Turning over, he whispered, "Thanks, Ami."

* * *

The little child walked by the sleeping dragon, making sure not to touch him. He kept a hold of the tail of his hat to make sure that it didn't tickle the sleeping dragon and wake up the old thing. Though it wouldn't be much of a problem since the dragon was so slow in flight.

The child made a portal to the top of the dragon and then stepped into it. As he hung in the air for a second, he created two more so he could land on the other side of the dragon. The little eliatrope walked the rest of the way to the little shrine, being sure to check behind him for a second.

A small smile crept on to his face as he approached the little cube that spun in a small, glass dome. He was really going to do it! He was going to be the first to see the king since the battle against Quibly. "I can't wait to tell everyone," he said as he reached for the dome, but a strong arm reach around and pulled him back.

"Mattan, what are you doing?" a girl's hushed hiss whispered into his ears. The little boy turned and looked up at the girl before him.

"Benoite!" the little boy exclaimed before she quieted the boy.

"Why are you approaching the Eliacube?" she demanded, bending down to look him in the eye.

Mattan looked down at his feet. "I-I just wanted to see the King."

The elder girl shook her head. "You cannot go there, Mattan." Benoite scowled as she looked away and crossed her arms. "And the King will bring us when his world is ready. That's what-!"

Suddenly, she felt the slip of cloth falling from her head. She looked back to see the little boy with her hat as he dropped it into a portal. Blushing at the sudden exposure, she raced after her little brother, screaming his name as he went off into another portal, laughing. For a while, the two chased each other through portal until the gleeful laugh and the shrill demands awoken the old dragon outside. He stirred and hovered into the building as he noticed the two children.

"Benoite, what are you doing?" he asked.

Benoite suddenly stopped and looked down, shame-faced, as she covered the little wings on her head. "I-I'm sorry."

"Where's your hat?"

The eliatrope girl flushed pink as she looked down. "I-it was Mattan. He-!"

"That child," the old dragon sighed. He flew over to the girl. "Causing more problems."

"He-!" But a sudden flash of light cut her off.

* * *

Yugo hadn't expected the tip of a sword to glare down at his face nor the grating words of, "How dare you kidnap the princess." If he hadn't been half-asleep, the young man would have demanded more of an explanation. Instead, he worked out a sleepy, "What?"

Before he could fully register what was going on, Adamai had already turned himself into a tofu and flew about to distract a few of the men in the room. By the time Yugo had registered that his room was full of heavily armed cra men, trying to duck under or swat away Adamai with their swords.

He looked about for Amalia, noticing her in a corner near the door as she smacked away a cra, screaming at him. She reached for her doll just as Yugo ran behind the cra and knocked him out. He waved to the door and the princess pouted. "I had him."

"That sounds like something Pinpin would say!"

"No, really, they're nothing really to-," Amalia tried explaining, but Yugo grabbed her by the wrist, then his hooded shawl and cloak from the rack before racing off down the hallway, calling for Adamai as he left. He felt rather light on his feet as he continued. Yugo couldn't hear the cries for him to stop over the beating of his heart.

Within seconds, Adamai caught up to them. "Something's strange about it all..." Adamai said as he landed in Amalia's hair. He looked down at the sadida's face. "What did they mean about 'kidnapping the princess'?"

Amalia scowled. "That's what I'm trying to explain to Yugo, but he's too busy playing gobball."

Just as Yugo pulled the others into the inn's dinner, he found the dinning hall full cra, arrows at the ready and pointed at the two. He stopped in his tracks and looked at all the armed men, all dressed in bow wolf fur and bearskin. "Gez, that isn't fair," he muttered.

"Well, what do you expect? They're my guards," huffed Amalia as she stepped passed a slumped Yugo. He looked over at her, rather shocked. The sadida shook her head. "Are you so iopish that you forget that the Sadida King om has a special task for of cra for the royalty?"

In fact, it had escaped his mind. He knew that there were a number of cra in the Sadida Kingdom's army and that Amalia's former bodyguard had been a cra, but a special task force... The tip of a sword entering Yugo's vision quickly snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Enzot!" shouted Amalia, taking a step forward and pushing the blade away from Yugo's face. "How dare you assume I got kidnapped! My father knows that I like getting away from the Kingdom for a while."

With the sword out of Yugo's face, he finally saw the owner of the blade, a tall and dark-haired cra with dark hands that didn't match his pale complexion. Enzot closed his eyes with a soft groan before sheathing his sword. "I apologize, Princess," he said with a slight bow. "But months of absence is quite a problem."

From there, Amalia began yelling at the cra, if Yugo could even call him that. From the many cra he had seen, Yugo hadn't seen any with dark hands or such dark hair.

Adamai flew from Amalia's hair to the dumbfounded young man and rested on his shoulder. "Feel rather iopish now, don't you, bro?" Yugo sighed, putting on his cloak, muffling Adamai's chuckling. With it on, he pulled off the headache-inducing cap and rubbed his temples. The tofu-disguised dragon slipped from under Yugo's shawl and rested in his shirt pocket.

Behind Yugo, steps from approaching cra soldiers echoed down to them. "The luggage is secured, sir!" called a cra. Yugo watched a cra holding his satchel pass by and he quickly nabbed it. The cra reached for it, but Amalia noticed and called the cra off. He pulled away, mumbling an apology as he went.

Then, the sadida glared towards the dark-haired cra. "And what makes you think that I'm going home,Enzot?" she demanded.

"By order of your brother, the Prince Armand." Enzot said it with such a straight face that Yugo hated to think of the death-glare that she shot at the dark-haired cra.

"Of course," she huffed, folding her arms. Then, she turned back to Yugo. "Well, looks like I'm not getting out of this." Amalia raised her eyebrows. Yugo cocked his head slightly but said nothing as he noticed that she was reaching back into one of her hip bags.

"Yeah," agreed Yugo, tossing the satchel over his shoulder. Adamai looked between them and took off from his hiding place, resting on Yugo's head. Just as Amalia pulled out a handful of seeds and put her hand to her side, Enzot grabbed her hand roughly. The contents of Amalia's hand spilled on the ground as she gasped in surprise.

"Princess Amalia," said the cra, glaring down at her with indifference, "we cannot allow you to get away so easily." Quickly, Yugo rushed to her side but several cra grabbed him from behind, binding his arms behind his back. Two more grabbed the furious tofu-disguised dragon as he attacked their heads.

With that, Enzot called for them to follow him, and the soldiers did so. The soldiers escorted the three like prisoners into the bitter cold to a zaap portal that opened at dawn. As soon as they walked through the portal, they arrived at a harbor father to the south. By then, Amalia stopped struggling but she continued to brood. Enzot had let go of her, so she just crossed her arms discontentedly as she marched on a boat filled with cra and sadida soldiers.

Yugo, however, hadn't been so lucky. The soldiers shoved him all the way there, despite Amalia commanding them to be more careful under threat of a reprimand, though Yugo didn't think a princess could do much to command an army unlike her brother, who was the head of the army.

On the deck of the ship, the cra finally let Yugo and Adamai go. The two collapsed down at the wall of the poop deck. Of all the times they could have been found, it had been when they finally got a clue about what was going on. He could have run with the next wind, but it wasn't a good idea, given that Amalia would have gone after him anyway, cra and sadida army or not. He sighed, just as Adamai perched on his shoulder.

"When we reach the Sadida Kingdom, we could head out again," said his dragon-brother. "That would probably hold her over for a while."

Speaking of the shushu, the said girl stormed over to them, groaning as she collapsed next to him. Yugo looked over at her, not noticing that his face flushed slightly. She hunched over, wrapping her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees as she glazed out at the horizon before her, as if it would retreat from her childish glare and prolong her return home. Yugo and Adamai both chuckled at her brooding face, causing her to look over at them. Both fell silent.

"How long do you think you'll be staying at my kingdom?" she asked. Yugo shrugged, though his hood-ears drooped slightly. Amalia noticed this and narrowed her eyes. "Please, at least stay for a couple of days," she said, her lower lip curling. "I don't want to deal with my brother alone, so some company wouldn't hurt."

"What about those attendants you have?" asked Yugo.

"Or that blind consultant?" added Adamai.

She pursed her lips at him as a new glare formed on her face. "It's different," she admitted.

Yugo cocked his head. His mind went blank. Adamai pecked his hand, causing the eliatrope to wince and come back to reality. Amalia raised her eyebrows slightly. "Wh-what do you mean?" he asked.

"Well..." She looked away at the horizon. "It just...you are a friend in a different sense they are, I guess." Amalia relaxed her hands and allowed her legs to uncurl before her. She stretched her hands up to the skies and looked over at Yugo. "They dote on me. You guys don't."

"Ah," Yugo responded, trying to shake off his mixed relief and disappointment. He rested his head against the wood behind him. "How much farther do we have to go?"

"A few days?" Amalia answered.

Yugo sighed before looking over at Amalia with a smile. She returned it before looking over at the horizon. Maybe he could take a little time off. He'd be lucky to see those figure again, but darn it, he'd find them again and learn whatever he could about it.

* * *

The woman entered the dark room, drawing her hood over her ears and bowing her head. The room smelled of incense and burning leaves. The woman knelt before an alter, her robe circling around her bent figure. A candle burned around a small figurine. Even below her hood, her ecaflip ears could catch the sound of footsteps. She kept her head bowed. "Master?"

"The child has been found."

The ecaflip kept her head forward, not allowing her surprise to cross her face in fear of her worldly impressions disgracing the gods. Finishing her small prayer, she rose and turned to the old man, a feca, hidden under his heavy tunic and robes. "The child?" she repeated. Then she began walking away from the altar. "May the gods favor our efforts."

The feca man used his shield to stop the ecaflip in her tracks. "The ancient scripts have finally been translated," he said, his voice low. "I need you to use one of the spells."

Her ears dipped under the hood and the shadows of the back of her robes flattened slightly. "Of course, Master," she said.

The shield disappeared, allowing the woman to pass through the passage way. She marched through the dark hallways. Eventually, she stopped in an ancient corridor that ran far down into the earth. It's life-like statues untouched by time or the Orgrest's chaos, who's tears had flooded the world a thousand years ago all for the fickle love of a puppet.

She took a deep breath of the thick air before she continued her way through, finding a golem in the shape of a nimble sram. Its had been positioned in such a way that it would sink into the shadows and attack an enemy undetected. Nodding slowly, she placed her hands on it as they glowed a soft gold. She drew an old ruin on it before leaving to retrieve the spell she needed for her mission.

End: Chapter 1.

**Funny how I'm supposed to be writing one story, I have to start another. Well, we have this. Rising Gate is set five years after the series finally, so Yugo and Adamai is 17 and Amalia is probably 19. I dunno if the others are going to be super big in this story, but they'll have important roles, of course. I apologize if Adamai appears out of character, but he's just so hard to write at times. Originally, Az was in the chapter, but I kept forgetting about the poor tofu, so he's been left with Alibert to help keep an eye on Chibi and little Grangran. Um, what else...? The story is mostly planned and I hope you will enjoy it. If you have enjoyed this, please, do leave a review. ^^ **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to Suricatessen for reviewing, helping me figure out Adamaï's character, and indirectly getting me to use the accent over the "i" in his name.**

**Disclaimer: Apparently, I completely forgot to put this up on the first chapter, so, I don't own Wakfu. If I did, why would I be writing fanfiction for it then?**

**Rising Gates**

Chapter 2: The Sadida Kingdom

The ship docked at noon. The princess, her comrades, her bodyguard, and the soldiers were greeted by sadida guards and Prince Armand. Enzot escorted the reluctant princess down onto the docks first, shortly followed by Yugo and Adamaï with sadida and cra "escorts." By the time they got down to the docks, Yugo heard the traces of a reprimand from a familiar voice that had the smell of a pig's pen.

"-for months and-"

"Armand, I left a note and I didn't think-!"

"Of course you didn't." This was accompanied by a heavy sigh. As the soldiers pushed the brothers forward, they could see that the crown prince Armand was rubbing his temples as he continued talking about his sister's iop-rashness and simple-mindedness.

Amalia clenched her fists, about to retort something, but Enzot stepped forward and coughed to interrupt the royal siblings. He got down on one knee and waved over to Yugo and Adamaï without looking up. "Prince Armand, the princess had been found with these boys."

The dragon muttered to himself.

The prince looked over at Enzot and then to Yugo and Adamaï. The eliatrope forced a smile and waved while Adamaï simply folded his arms and stood up straighter. "Thank you, Enzot," Armand said, his edge having disappeared in the presence of the dragon and eliatrope that helped saved his kingdom. He folded his hands behind his back and an authorial smile crossed his face. "Yugo and Adamaï, it has been a while since you've graced us with a visit."

"Well...it _has_ been, hasn't it?" Yugo rubbed the back of his neck through the fabric of his hood, avoiding eye contact.

"We've been busy with other things," said Adamaï.

"I do apologize for if my sister interrupted whatever you were up to," said the prince. He then waved to the forest kingdom behind him. "I and the rest of the kingdom welcome your visit, so feel free to stay as long as you like."

Yugo nodded with a quick thanks.

Armand turned and lead them to the outskirts of the forest, where a set of dragoturkeys waited for the prince and his company. The royal siblings and the brothers rode mounts and the soldiers walked around them. While Armand talked of changes within the kingdom, Yugo watched Amalia as she brooded and pouted.

"Hey, lover-boy, there are more important things than a pouty princess," said Adamaï in a low voice, nudging his brother in the front of his chest. Yugo looked down at his dragon-brother, seeing the frown on his face.

"Er..." the eliatrope said as he looked away towards the interesting shadows to the side of the path. Adamaï sighed.

"So, tell me more about these villages," Armand said, looking over to Yugo. He then raised an eyebrow at the pinkish eliatrope. "What's over that way?"

Yugo turned his face towards the prince. "Er...I thought I saw something, that's all." He then coughed before explaining about the strange villages, but he made sure to leave out the strange figures when talking about the particular village he had investigated a few days ago. During the boat ride, Yugo had talked to Adamaï about other possibilities of what they could have been, besides ghosts as Amalia had mentioned. Neither the dragon nor the eliatrope could think of anything.

Upon Yugo concluding the explication, Armand stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I haven't heard of these rumors at all. Are you sure you don't know the cause?"

Yugo and Adamaï shook their heads. "If we knew it, we would have told you," said the dragon, earning him a discrete glare from his eliatrope-brother that said, _how many times have I harped this, Ad?_

Armand then nodded before looking ahead. "My father might have heard more about such complaints than I have from farther out in the kingdom."

"Any information you can provide us will help plenty," said Yugo.

"Speaking of," Adamaï said. His mount pick up it's pace to catch up with the prince. What the dragon asked of the prince had been too quite for Yugo to hear, even if he strained his ears. Even after urging his dragoturkey along, Yugo missed what the question was, only hearing the tail end of Armand's reply that made little sense beyond that it was a promise to keep him posted. Yugo furrowed his eyebrows. _What did that mean?_ He'd have to ask Adamaï about it later.

As they continued, the smell of the ocean breeze disappeared, leaving the smell of pine that much stronger. Other wisps of smells became stronger as the small party continued along the trail and closer to the kingdom's capital. Occasional sadidas passed them in wagons or on foot, all dressed in heavy furs and colorful dried leaves and holly. Each recognized the prince and princess and each one waved to them or bowed slightly as they continued along. On occasion, they would also recognize Yugo or Adamaï from the vague descriptions of the somewhat inaccurate Legend of the Ginger Warrior.

The princess's attitude disappeared a little behind a soft smile as she waved to every passerby. By the time they arrived at the castle gates, Amalia had practically bounced her way to the thrown room. Yugo had walked a little ways behind her, the prince, and her bodyguard. He heard the bodyguard mutter, "How can she have that much energy after being dragged back?" Yugo had to admit, it was a bit strange, but then again, Amalia could change her attitude just as quickly as an iop would rush into battle.

* * *

"-was not me who left his entire shop in ruins! I was on the other side of the kingdom on that very day!"

As the group arrived in the throne room, Yugo saw that the king was in the middle of settling a dispute between two sadida men. At first, he waited behind the chamberlain next to the cra and his brother until he heard that one of the two men's shop had burned down in an instant while the owner's back was turned. He pushed his way passed the chamberlain, saying a quick apology as he did so.

"And how do you suggest I could do such a thing?!" shouted one of the sadida.

"Oh, you have enough money in that purse of yours to hire someone to-"

The king slammed his oak specter against the floor; the resounding boom silenced the two men. They looked up at the king, waiting for him to speak. "I shall have a few of our alchemists investigate the area before I make my final decision," said the king. "For now, this audience is adjourned until further notice."

Both men bowed before being lead out by a few of the guards. At that moment, the chamberlain called to the king, announcing the return of the prince, princess, the eliatrope, and the dragon. The king's strained and serious face melted into a wide smile. "Audiences are suspended for the next hour," he called to the herald. "The princess has returned."

"Again," muttered Enzot.

When the oak doors closed with a dismissing boom, the sadida king hoisted himself out of the throne and stepped down the little staircase and turned to his new audience.

"Hi, Papa," Amalia greeted, approaching him with a warm smile. The king returned it and scooped his daughter into a hug for several long minutes. Yugo felt a prickle in his stomach, remembering his own dad. He was close; maybe he could ask his shushu-possessed map for a shortcut to his home village of Emelka.

When the father and daughter separated, the king looked down at Amalia with a partial frown. "You shouldn't have left for so long," he said with a voice of mixed relief and concern.

The princess's smile faded. "I needed to make sure Yugo was all right."

At this point, Adamaï jabbed his brother in the knees with a smirk. Yugo looked down at his brother, frowning.

The king turned to the brothers, causing Yugo to stiffen up. Amalia had once mentioned how livid he could get at times. Depending how the kingdom was in. How was it? Shoot. He should have paid more attention when Armand was talking. What was the king thinking behind his mask of green hair and the straight grimace? King Oakheart began walking towards the eliatrope. Yugo kept his face as straight as possible, trying his best to not sweat.

The king rested a hand on the eliatrope's shoulder. "At least we know that she wouldn't get into much trouble this time." Yugo dared look up at the king to see a smile on it. Yugo returned the smile while internally sighing in relief.

"Papa!" shouted Amalia, folding her arms. The king chuckled and looked to his daughter.

Yugo relaxed. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I'm sure no one would try to take Amalia since she has such a fighting spirit."

"I wouldn't say 'fighting spirit' per say..." Adamaï said, earning a glare from the princess and a laugh out of the rest of her family.

King Oakheart's shoulders shook from laughing. He patted the teen on the back with such force that Yugo stumbled a little. The eliatrope looked up at his friend with an apologetic smile, but her glaring pout turned away. That was, until Amalia's father added the next gem. "Too bad Amalia isn't up for marriage."

Yugo stopped laughing, his hood-ears perking up. "What?" both the eliatrope and sadida princess asked, the former dumbstruck and the latter appalled.

"Ugh, of all the times!" Amalia shouted with an ear-splitting screech. She jabbed her hands in the direction of her father. "Papa, for the love of Sadida and all his dolls, don't _mention_ it so nonchalantly!" Before the king could even get a syllable out, she stormed passed them and disappeared through the chamber doors. Enzot bowed to them before departing, looking none too pleased with the situation.

For several minutes, they stood in silence before Armand also excused himself. King Oakheart turned back to Yugo and Adamaï. "I do apologize for that scene."

"Ha, Gourgal puts up worse." Adamaï then patted his brother's arm. "Besides, I don't think he's ready for that stuff either." Yugo blinked, still trying to intake what had just happened. After a few seconds, it finally hit him.

"Oh," he and the king said at the same time. Yugo turned his face away as he felt it heat up a bit.

King Oakheart coughed. "Well, I'm sure that your journey has been hard," he said. He turned around, waving for them to follow. "I am quite sure we have some spare rooms so you two can rest for a while." The king disappeared down the hallway.

Just before the brothers followed, Adamaï said, "Way to get turned down, bro."

"Shut up."

* * *

The disheartened king left the brothers in the spare room. Finally having a moment to wind down, Yugo walked over and fell into the bed, sinking in to the mattress far more than he thought was possible. Giving a wild cry, he fumbled around and pulled himself back to his feet.

Adamaï fell over laughing. "Bro, that cry! What was it, a bow meow?" He got to his feet. Disappearing and reappearing over the bed, the dragon fell into it as if he had bellyflopped into the ocean. "Man, this is a million times better than any of those stuffy inn beds."

"Yeah, but it's definitely more expansive," responded Yugo in a half-chuckle.

"Nothing like an arm and a leg," Adamaï said, pulling himself up and looking at his brother.

"Yeah." The eliatrope pulled his hood farther over his eyes. Adamaï blinked, his smile fading. Adamaï struggled against the squishy bed. When he could finally look at his brother, Yugo had gotten to his feet.

"Yugo...you okay?" Adamaï asked softly.

The eliatrope turned back. "Hm?" Shaking his head, Yugo put on a smile. "Oh, yeah. Don't worry, Ad, I'm fine."

Dissatisfied with the answer, Adamaï gazed at Yugo with narrowed eyes. He tried reading beyond the expression from his brother's face, behind what he hand said, and what his actions. However, Adamaï couldn't really see it. Oh, he understand that it was there, but what exactly was there remained far beyond his grasp.

But maybe he couldn't exactly figure it out right now. The least he could do was offer something to his brother in order to get his mind off of it. "Hey, you heard the sadidas arguing?"

Yugo nodded, the distant expression in his eyes disappearing. "The entire shop went up in smoke in an instant."

Adamaï grinned. "Maybe there's something we can see that they can't." He extended his arms, slightly losing his balance. Yugo chuckled as the dragon fought to keep steady on the bed only to fall face first into the softness. This time, it was Yugo's turn to collapse in a fit of giggles, though Adamaï joined shortly after.

After finally pulling himself out of the bed like a half-drowned castaway, Adamaï joined his brother in walking to the shop that had exploded. Getting the needed information from the guards was difficult. They gave various reasons that didn't sit well with the eliatrope and the dragon. One even explained that the alchemists were "fussy," but the way the guard had said it sound like a understatement. So, they were left with asking the citizens of the kingdom. Fortunately, gossip and rumors were as common place as the stones they stepped on.

Finally arriving at the destination, the two teens looked at the wreckage, all covered by a blue-gray dome, lined with sadida men and women with folded hands. Adamaï gazed at it for a minute before swearing under his breath. "Magical barriers!"

Yugo looked down at Adamaï and then checked the barrier with his own wakfu-vision. Nothing within the barrier registered. Not the alchemists, the veins of wakfu flowing under the earth. Nothing passed a brilliant black. Blinking away the wakfu vision, the eliatrope frowned. "Magical barriers," he nodded.

As he drew a portal in the air to walk through the barrier, a sadida guard approached them. "Halt!" he yelled. The guard's tone faltered as he recognized the young guests of the royal family. "Oh, sirs! I do apologize for my iopness." He bowed to both Yugo and Adamaï before returning to full height. "May I ask why you approached here, sirs?"

"We need to see what's behind the barrier," explained Yugo, pointing towards the dome. "If it isn't too much trouble, we could possibly offer some sort of help."

Adamaï, however, approached the barrier, poking it. Sparks flew from the magical wall and the dragon frowned. "Magical barriers obstruct our view of the wakfu flow."

The guard shrugged and scratched the top of his head. "I can't allow that. Sorry, sirs," he said. "The alchemists are..."

"_Fussy_," Adamaï said as he peered into the barrier to see one of the shadows that moved in the back.

"That's the kindest term I've heard someone say for them," said the guard. He looked towards Yugo. "Maybe once they leave, you can investigate. However, I think it might be a few days before you can do anything." The guard the adjusted his grip on his staff. "And, why exactly can't you see passed the barriers to see the wakfu?"

"Ah, that's right," said Adamaï, not looking away from the barrier. "Other races don't use wakfu like we do."

Yugo shrugged. "It's kind of hard to explain..." He scratched his cheek, trying to think of a good way to explain the concept. "Magic is..."

"Magic is the expression of will over nature. Wakfu and stasis are natural energies created from creation and destruction of living things," Adamaï said.

"Er...yeah, that." Yugo looked over at the dragon with a frown of annoyance. He knew Adamaï was grinning at being able to explain a "simple" concept, or so says the dragon that liked the occasional over-simplification of such complicated things as if they were as easy as adding two and two together.

Adamaï backed away from the magical barrier. "Yugo," he said in a rather low voice. "It looks like we're not getting in now, bro. Maybe we should find somewhere else to wait for now."

"Ad?" he asked, but Adamaï had already began walking away from the ruined shop. Yugo waved a quick apology to the befuddled guard before following after his brother. Once he caught up with the dragon, the eliatrope looked down at Adamaï. "Ad, why did you suddenly leave like that?"

Adamai didn't respond. Instead, he picked up his pace, but Yugo matched it easily. Even as Yugo kept pestering his brother, Adamaï didn't respond. Slowly, the eliatrope grew more impatient with his brother, the knot in his stomach continued telling him to get the dragon's attention.

Eventually, Adamaï cracked. Whipping around, the dragon shouted, "What do you want, Yugo?"

"How about you tell me what's been going on?" the eliatrope stated, his voice a little more quieter than his brother's. "Why did you suddenly decide to leave?"

Adamaï snorted. "You heard the guard, we weren't getting in for a few days. _Might_ as well just find something else to do until then." He turned away, folding his arms. "Maybe there's nothing there in the first place."

Yugo furrowed his eyebrows. What was going on in his dragon-brother's mind? Adamaï had been more adamant to get into the dome than Yugo had. What made him decided that _nothing_ was there? "What did you see?"

"It's been a while since we've had anything good to eat," said Adamaï, patting his stomach absently. "Let's see if there is something to eat besides that grass soup." He walked down the street. Yugo grunted, folding his arms. Maybe some cooking could get him to calm down.

As they left the spot, a group of children watched them go. They had been startled when the two strangers suddenly started shouting at each other. The children dropped their game to watch them. Now that the two were gone, the children returned to their game. An older one commented that the taller one had a similar head apparel as one of the other children of the group. The said child blinked, pulling at the bell ornaments at the end of his hat. Then, he grinned. He raced off from the strangers, exclaiming something about finally finding the "king."

The other children watched him go, rather confused by why he would mention the sadida king. Or was it the entrof king? The children argued about this until they grew bored of it and continued their game of catch.

* * *

Amalia paced her room, tossing about pillows in her frustration. Sure, her princess duties included some not-so-interesting tasks like creating diets for the carnivorous plants or entertaining the not-so-interesting guests from the other kingdoms that talked nothing more of setting formal-wear or the like. But those mundane tasks at least made her feel like she was accomplishing something to help her kingdom. Marriage on the other hand... That was another story.

She fell onto her bed, muttering about how her father saw the boy as a perfect husband for the "tough spirited" princess she was. "I'd rather go on another adventure through all the swamps and caves and face a million Razortimes than have to be forced into a marriage." She rolled over, folding her arms. "I wish he'd just-"

"A daughter should mind her father's wishes."

_That dirty cra!_ She glared at the half-opened door where Enzot's voice and trailed from. Getting to her feet, she grabbed one of her heavier plush pillows and flung it at the door, slamming it shut. "And a father should listen to his daughter's wishes!" she bellowed back. Enzot didn't respond, but she didn't care about that.

Instead, she marched over to the workbench that had once been a simple desk for flowers. Since her previous bodyguard and favorite had left to start a family years ago, Amalia had gained an interest in expanding her abilities to protect herself, especially since many of the bodyguards after Evangelyne hadn't been so willing to listen or follow to the princess's urges of trying to visit her friends. Many had left within at least a few months of duty, all the more urging her to hone her skills in the magics and doll manipulation.

She sniffed at the thought of her brother's first reactions when she challenged any of the royal guards. "'Princesses aren't _supposed_ to protect themselves,'" she mocked, putting a small seed into a jar of dirt. "My brambles we're not." She poured a few drops of a recently acquired potion onto the seed. She sat down in the chair, waiting to see her handiwork bloom into a possibly new doll.

But a splitting headache caused her to not be able to see it. She didn't even feel the ground give when when darkness met her eyes. At least the pain left. Or maybe she was pulled from the pain, pulled by some force that she felt all too familiar with. When Amalia was more aware of her surroundings, she felt light, free of the shackles of a body. She trembled at the thought.

Amalia looked around, seeing the tree in front of her. The only source of light in the dark expanse glowed from the leaves, a mixture of brightly burning buds, dimming leaves, and everything in between. The princess took a few steps towards the tree, stopping when she heard the crinkle of dried leaves. She looked down to see a little doll appear at the base of the tree.

Kneeling down, Amalia stared at it. "Tree of Life?" she asked.

The doll nodded before floating over to her. It landed just in front of her and extended one of it's antenna towards her. At first, Amalia leaned back from the Tree of Life's reach. The doll cocked it's head, the leaves crinkling as it did so. The princess took a moment, relaxing her body and leaned towards him so that the antennas brushed her forehead.

Several images flashed in her head, faster than she could fully take in. Amalia reached for as many of the images as possible that stuck out in the jumbles of colors, shapes, and faces, tucking them into her memory as quickly as they came. Then they stopped, leaving the sadida feeling dizzy and light-headed.

"Good luck, my child."

"Who-?"

She opened her eyes.

The first thing she was aware of was the dulling ache in her head and the fact that her body was laying on something. Then the smell of wet leaves. Then the feel of said leaves on her face and the soft fabric under her. A screeched wailing met her ears. Amalia took in the room around her. She looked over to see a fat doll pressing it's glowing yellow hands to her head. A little behind it, her two attendants were clinging to each other. Enzot stood close to the bed, rubbing his temples and saying that she'd be fine once she awoke.

"Renate, Canar, could you _please—_for the love of Sadida!—_please _stop that horrible screeching!" She sat up, startling the poor doll. "I already have a-!" Her head throbbed worse than she had when she was laying down. She doubled over and clutched her head.

"Ah, Princess!" Renate called, pushing passed Enzot and sitting next to her on the bed and gripping her in a tight hug. "We were so worried! Me and Canar heard that you returned, but we found you on the floor!"

Canar pointed to the cra bodyguard. "We were worried this fool let something into the room! You know what they say about half-cras."

Enzot pointed a dagger at the attendant, making him scream and flinch. "My observation skills are not deterred," the cra growled.

"Enzot!" shouted Amalia, ignoring the pain in her head as she snapped it over to glare at her bodyguard. "Do _not_ even _think_ hurting about my attendants for stupid comments." She then turned back to Renate and Canar, dismissing them with a few gentler words. She then laid back down, allowing her healing doll to continue its healing process to get rid of her nasty headache.

With the doors shut, the cra folded his arms and asked, "Princess, did anything come through and attack you? None of the windows were open; I was posted at the doors but I did not hear anything." He eyed the doll. "That only leaves the doll-"

Appalled at the idea, Amalia cut him off with a firm "No." She patted the doll and slowly sat up. "I..._fainted-_" She grimaced at the very word. "-before this doll bloomed. It was the Tree of Life. It called me and showed me things."

"Things?" he inquired.

She nodded, slowly processing through the strange images. She frowned before getting up. "I need to find Yugo and Adamaï."

Enzot raised an eyebrow as she put several seeds and bottles into a small satchel and throwing the strap over her shoulder. He didn't even begin questioning her until she had a cloak put around her and the little doll tucked away into her bag. "Princess, I'm sure that the King has sent them into a spare room," he said. "There is no need to get dressed, unless they were put into the dragoturkey stalls."

"They're not in the castle," she muttered, marching out of the room. Enzot followed her, further questioning her in how she knows all this and where exactly they were. They passed a hall where the princess's two attendants hid, avoiding being spotted from their earlier eavesdropping.

"She wants to go on another adventure," sighed Renate, "even when she just got home too."

"And we wanted to show her some of the newest things in next season," Canar agreed. "And we never got to finish decorating her new present."

As the two attendants lamented on all the missed opportunities between catching up with their attendee and talking to her about whatever, they walked to retrieve the present that would surely be of use to an adventuring princess.

* * *

Even after picking up a cheap bite to eat at a local restaurant, they had walked around in silence for most of the time. After a while, Adamaï and Yugo sat down on a bench, each turned away from each other. Yugo stared at the trees. His frustration was gone, leaving behind a burning curiosity in him about his dragon-brother's sudden mood. Now that he thought about it, it really didn't help after Yugo yelled... He looked over at the dragon toe say something but he stopped when feeling a sudden chill around his head.

Yugo pat his head, not feeling the rough clothe that had normally covered his head and little wings of wakfu. He stood up, flushing and looking wildly around. Someone giggled behind him. Yugo turned, pulling his hood up, but no-one was there.

"What was that?" Adamaï asked, looking behind the bench and then at Yugo. "Why are you red?"

They heard a gleeful laugh behind them. The two brothers turned around, seeing a young boy wearing a dark hat and a brown shawl. "I finally found you, your Majesty Yugo!"

Yugo coughed. Adamaï exhaled smoke from his nose.

What was another eliatrope doing in the Sadida Kingdom?

**Chapter 2: End.**

**The magic vs. wakfu explanation is based after the AP and WP in the game. After playing it a bit, I've become rather amused to how often spells are used between the main characters in the show and the players in the game (or at least in my experience). And, man, Renate and Canar are such fun to make them squeal~! I hope I can get a few more moments to do that in much later chapters.**

**Oh, I'm probably going to up the rating to T because a instant in a couple of chapters, there is a scene that is kind of...iffy, really. Future chapters might get iffy as well, though, so we'll just wait until the next chapter comes out.**

**Hope you enjoyed and see you next time. Hopefully, it won't take so long to upload the next chapter. **

**-Aug. 27, 2013**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you holloww69 for reviewing and everyone who has followed, faved, and read so far!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Wakfu. The only things I own are the OCs.**

**Rising Gate**

Chapter 3: The Lost Boy

The eliatrope boy looked between the two astonished brothers. "Your Majesty?" he asked quizzically, looking between the two. "What's wrong?" He looked the two over again. "And why are you taller?"

Adamaï jumped down from the bench to examine the child over. "How did you get here?"

The boy smiled bright, the ears of his hat perking up as he stood up. "I used the Eliacube!"

Yugo and Adamaï looked at each other, both speechless at what to do about this new bit of information. Finally, the former cleared his throat and asked, "Um, how many others came through?"

"Just me," the boy said, looking up at the "king". "I wanted to see you after the fight with Qilby. I thought it was so cool how you fought him with my sister and everyone!" He bounced on his feet and his smile grew bigger.

Yugo frowned. "Did the Eliacube come with you? If it did, do you know where you landed?"

The little boy shook his head, his smile disappearing. "I dunno where it went..." he said, looking down. Then, he looked back up and smiled wide. "I'm Mattan!" Then he looked to the dragon. "You're Adamaï. Baltazar told us a lot about you in the old times! How you were a big and strong dragon, the legendary protector of the eliatropes!" He then added, "Even when you and Yugo became our kings."

Adamaï frowned. "Well, Qilby was at least correct about that." He looked back at Mattan. "How did you get close to the Eliacube in the first place?"

"Old Balt was asleep," he said, grinning proudly. "I even got passed my sister!"

Adamaï patted him, awkwardly saying, "Good job."

Mattan looked up to Yugo expectantly, but the elder eliatrope shrugged with a frown. He leaned back against the bench, his head going over the side. Had this eliatrope boy step through the Blank as well? Yugo shivered at the thought. Had the Eliacube fallen into the World of Twelve and already found by someone? Did more children come through before Mattan? What if he-?

The rustle of trees above the pondering teen pulled him out of his thoughts. His eyes narrowed, studying the area above him for a few seconds. Something glowed in the space between the branches and needles. Eyes widening, Yugo leaped to his feet, shoving Adamaï, Mattan, and himself through a portal. The landed face first into a snowbank on the other side of the road. Yugo stood and stood defensively in front of Adamaï and Mattan.

The dragon sputtered snow out of his mouth. "Bro, what was that-?" He fell silent, looking just passed his brothers legs. Mattan stood up and peered at the creature.

The creature stood up from the destroyed wooden bench, focusing gold-glowing eyes on the three. "A statue?" Adamaï asked, getting to his feet and walking closer to it. After examining it for a second, Adamaï scowled. "No wakfu, what-so-ever."

"How?" Yugo asked, looking down at his brother.

"Simple." Adamaï tapped his head. "It isn't feca magic, bro, it's not a living creature."

Yugo looked at the creature. "Then how is it-?"

Just as he said that, the statue disappeared in a ripple of darkness, slipping into the shadows.

"Oh, for the love of the great goddess! Sram magic!" Adamaï cursed, looking around. The three stepped closer into a circle, looking about wildly for the disappearing statue.

Two small and shaky hands grab Yugo's arm. "Where-?" Mattan began, but Yugo cut him off. He picked up the child and spun around to see the statue materialize between them. Yugo created two portals and shoved them into each other, unleashing a beam of wakfu while Adamaï spat fire at the creature.

The two backed away from the statue, waiting for it to rise. When it did, both gritted their teeth. It dematerialized into shadows again before reappearing in front of Adamaï. The dragon thrust concentrated stasis at it, but the statue knocked the fist away and tossed Adamaï into the closest tree.

"Ad!" shouted Yugo. He created a beam, but it contacted a tree farther behind where the statue had been. Yugo looked behind him, but the sram statue wasn't there. "Wha-?"

"There!" Mattan shouted.

Yugo looked back just in time to see a fist of concentrated darkness contact him. The eliatropes flew into a snowbank. Yugo blinked back black spots as Mattan shook him and shouted Yugo's name. The boy stopped and looked at the statue, shivering. It launched itself at them. Mattan created portals on either side of the two, sending it into a set of trees several yards behind them.

"Majesty, please get up!" the little boy shouted.

Yugo blinked, forcing himself into a sitting position. He saw the glowing eyes and the bone markings, just before it melted into shadows again. Adamaï—in his dragon form—landed hard into the ground. He rose, rubbing his head. "Ow, damn statues and srams and their magic."

"You okay, Adamaï?" asked Yugo.

"Never better, bro," Adamaï muttered. "Be on your toes."

Yugo and Mattan nodded. The little eliatrope stood up and looked around. "Maybe he...Huh?" Before anyone knew what was happening, Mattan had been ripped from his spot by the statue as it passed by and disappeared into the trees.

Yugo got to his feet just as Adamaï turned himself into a raven. The two then raced off after it.

Up in the branches, the statue moved with an odd grace that wasn't expected of something of its weight. However, it moved far slower than it did on the ground, allowing the eliatrope and the dragon to keep it in sight with Adamaï far closer than his brother thanks to the dragon's raven form. Yugo had to make due with tossing portals when he could so he couldn't be scratched or deterred by thick sets of branches.

"Help!" Mattan cried with extended hands back to the pursuers, clawing at the air desperately.

"Hang on!" Adamaï sped up and closed the remaining gap between him and the escaping statue. When he was just a foot away from the enemy, Adamaï changed his form into the dragon and crashing. The three tumbling down to the ground.

Yugo stopped on a branch before he threw portals, one below them and one above the ground. The statue, Mattan, and Adamaï popped out of the one closer to the ground, bouncing up just as the portal closed under them. This gave the dragon time to change into a giant crackler, spin around, and land on his back, holding both the statue and the child. Yugo popped up close by through another portal.

The statue struggled to get out of Adamaï's grip. He smirked. "Not so tough now, are ya?"

It tightened its grip around Mattan. The boy scream in pain. Adamaï growled, attempting to move to split the two apart, but it only tightened its lock around Mattan's waist. Finally, Adamaï conceded, letting go of the statue and the eliatrope child.

Yugo was ready. As the statue began bounding off into the trees, the eliatrope created a set of portals. When the statue passed through the portals and landed on the ground, it looked around wildly. With the new opportunity, the brothers leaped into battle. Adamaï gripped the statue's head and Yugo shot a beam of wakfu at it. The statue dropped Mattan in order to use its arms to block the attack. Both arms exploded into pebbles. Adamaï then raised it into the air, cracking off the stone head and tossing it into the forest.

Mattan scrambled to Yugo, hugging the elder eliatrope's legs as he shivered and whimpered. Yugo patted the little boy's head before gently picking him up. The boy wrapped his arms around the elder eliatrope's neck and buried his face into Yugo's chest. Adamaï went to join the two, transforming back into his humanoid form. Both sighed in relief, until Yugo looked at the ruined statue.

"Ad! How the heck is it still standing?!"

Adamaï looked back and gasped. "What in the name of the goddess's hood! What keeps this thing going?" he shouted, stepping in front of Yugo and Mattan.

"Maybe it was made by a shushu?"

The statue faced them and crouched low, ready to attack.

Brambles appeared from the ground and wrapped around the creature. Both brothers watched the brambles picked up the statue, raising it high as they constricted around the stone body until it broke into pebbles and dust that fell to the ground in glittering dust.

"Just as I said, Enzot." They looked behind them. Amalia landed lightly in the path from a large vine and walked towards the two brothers. Enzot followed close behind her. As the two newcomers got closer, the brothers could see a pout on Amalia's face.

The cra scowled. "It seems like your vision was correct, this time."

She stopped in front of the two brothers, her pout fading. "I came just in time, right?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and giving them a wide smirk.

"Yes, you did," Adamaï said flatly.

"What are you doing out here?" asked Yugo, blinking.

Amalia crossed her arms and huffed. "Not even a thank you?" After a few moments, she uncrossed her arms and continued, "I needed to talk to you. I've had a premonition and it includes a few things that concern you and Ada—oh, it looks like you found one of them." She looked to Mattan.

"One of them?" Yugo and Adamaï bellowed.

Amalia nodded, walking over to Yugo. As she came closer, Yugo smelled the mix of sweat and flowers. He pulled back just the tiniest bit. The sadida princess peered at the little boy, brushing away cloth and hair so she could see his face. Mattan pressed in farther to Yugo's chest as he stared out at the young woman.

She smiled softly. "Don't worry," she promised, "everything will be fine."

Stepping back, Amalia looked at Adamaï and Yugo. "I have to talk to you about a vision that the-"

"Princess," cut in Enzot, "are you _sure_ you want to say such things in the open?"

Amalia looked back at him, closing her mouth. Yugo half-expected her to get rather agitated, but she sighed. "You're right." Then the princess turned back to the three. "It's best that we talk about it back at the castle, away from random eavesdroppers and whatever that thing was."

Yugo and Adamaï nodded. The dragon looked up at Mattan. "Hey, you okay?"

The little boy nodded stiffly. Amalia patted his head before she took him from Yugo, cooing about scary golems and protection. It took a nudge in the knees from Adamaï to get the elder eliatrope going. The half-smile on Yugo's face faded slightly at his brother's raised eyebrows.

* * *

Once the doors of Amalia's room were firmly closed and Enzot placed outside the doors (after a little not-so-kind persuasion from the princess), Amalia began explaining about her vision. "I didn't get everything that the Tree of Life showed me, but I can tell you this much: it's something dangerous and involved you guys and our little eliatrope."

Adamaï, sitting on the edge of the wide bed, folded his arms. "How about we cut the vagueness and get right to it, Amalia," he said.

The princess waved a hand and turned her head away. "Fine, fine," she said before sitting down on the opposite side of the bed. Mattan looked at her curiously from the head of the bed, clutching the plush pillow that he had been previously investigating.

"I was in a vision?" he asked.

Amalia nodded. "One of the flashes was of two eliatropes." She waved a hand to Mattan. "Plus another one. She looked a few years older and wore pink, but that was as much as I could gather before the next flash came." Amalia looked at the decorated ceiling, thinking for a moment. "A few others included some sort of red monster. A beetle maybe?" Amalia stuck out her tongue as if she tasted something disgusting. "I'm sure it was hit with the ugly stick a few too many times."

Adamaï rolled his eyes. "Any specifics?"

Amalia shook her head. "As far as I can tell, most of it was covered in shadows. It was hard to make out what any details."

"What else?" asked Yugo, resting his head on the back of the chair he sat in.

"Well..." she began, before pausing. "There was something about eleven figures, though they kinda appeared blue... A third was Phaeris, though I'm not sure what he was doing..."

Adamaï lowered his head. "Phaeris has been gone a while now..."

"That's one of the few things we've been investigating," Yugo said, his voice a little more unwavering than his brothers.

The princess frowned. "Oh..." After a few seconds, she continued, "Um...there was a person in a robe wearing a specific symbol...an eye, I think it was...another was Qilby in a bunch of white space."

"What?" asked Adamaï, he bolted up. Mattan crawled closer to her, interested.

Amalia nodded. She explained how he sat hunched over something. Then she went to asking questions, a few that she hadn't even thought about before. The whole time, Yugo sat in silence, gazing at the ground. He bit his lip and clutched the wood of the chair as Mattan exclaimed about the battle between many of the eliatrope children lead by the "amazing king" and imprisoning the traitor in the Blank.

The princess soaked it in, awestruck. A pit formed under Yugo, threatening to swallow him up at any moment. Sinking him deeper and deeper into who-knows-where. The one thing... He felt several pairs of eyes turn to him, two sets glares. He was sure that they were glares. They had to be-

"So, you're actually the king and not Qilby?" asked Amalia, looking up at the hollyhock decorations on her ceiling. "That's a lot better than what we thought, I guess. Adamaï, I take it you knew this since then?"

Yugo turned his hazel eyes up to peek at the three on the bed, a new shame flooding over him. Amalia didn't look so mad, but Adamaï looked livid. "Yes," he said, his tone falling low. "The world will sing for a hesitant king."

"Sorry," Yugo whispered, looking down. His hood-ears drooping lower than they had been.

The princess huffed before marching around the room, gathering up clothing and various other things. Looking up, Yugo studied the various items, some of them required for a long journey, some not needed at all. When she was half-way through her dresser, Yugo hesitantly said, "Amalia, it's best if you stay here."

The princess looked back but she didn't stop in gathering clothing. "How come?"

"Well, we need someone to watch Mattan," Adamaï said, taking over from Yugo before the eliatrope could explain his own reasons. "You know, make sure _no one_ kidnaps him. Like the statue." Mattan shivered a little.

"I'm sure that the attendants would be more than happy to do that," she said, looking back over at the dragon. She gingerly folded a blouse and shoved it into the now half-full bag before heading over to her workbench next to Yugo.

"What about those 'scary golems' and 'mama Amalia'," inquired Adamaï, his voice flat.

"You did say that," agreed Mattan, nodding slowly. He let go of the plush pillow and stood on the bed, wobbling slightly because of the water-like mattress. "Maybe I can come with!" With that exclamation, he lost balance and toppled over.

Amalia giggled but kept her rhythm as she replied, "Mama Amalia will leave you in better hands." She placed a few bottles into her bag before turning to the two on the bed. "My brother is the head of the army of highly trained sadida warriors, not to mention he's a brute himself."

Yugo chuckled. "Yeah, his onion-breath will scare off anything within a mile of it." Then he paused. "But Amalia," he continued, his voice becoming serious, "it _would_ be best if you stayed here. If you come with us, there will be a number of problems we'll run into. Expenses and supplies are a major one." He hesitated for a second. "You don't have inex-"

"You spend kama like entrofs collect gold," Adamaï said, folding his arms. Yugo shot him a glare saying"you're not helping."

Amalia smirked. "Simple, we get a heavensack. That saves us in lodging. And Enzot and Adamaï can hunt. Doesn't that cover a lot of the food?" She turned back to them, placing the last of her bottles in the pack. She then raised her eyebrows, challenging the dragon to try a retort.

Instead, Yugo did. "We can't keep a watch on you the entire time."

Amalia's smirk faded as she looked back at Yugo. Her astonishment contorted into rage. "After two adventures and coming to find you, you decide to take that branch?" She bent down so she could see him, eye-to-eye.

Yugo leaned back a little as her brown eyes burrowed into his hazel ones. A small bit of his brain screamed at him how bad of an idea it was to even say that, but the rest of Yugo's mind told him to continue. So, he did: "Amalia, we were always in a group of five or six. We-"

"And who saved your butt from the golem?" she retorted, poking him in the nose. He leaned back as she continued. "How about the entire thing with Moon? Or-!"

"Those were group efforts, and Eva had always been there to look after you," Yugo shot back. He refrained from adding the number of times he had saved her.

Amalia narrowed her eyes before pointing to the door. "And what do you think the cra out there is supposed to do? Gather flowers and paint my toes?" She stood to her full height, folding her arms. "And what do you think I've been doing, hm? The same thing?"

"Partly," Adamaï said, earning a silencing glare from the princess.

Amalia turned her piercing glare back to Yugo. "I'm coming and that's final." She turned back around, closing her almost overflowing bag and slipped it over her shoulders. "Enzot," she called, "I have something I need you to do."

The cra opened the door, muttering to himself as glanced over at the attendants that followed him. He bowed at the princess's feet. "Yes?"

"Tell my father that I'm going to be leaving shortly," she said.

"No need, Princess," said Renate, stepping in front of Enzot and partly shoving the cra aside. "Canar and I already informed his Majesty about the prospect of you leaving."

The other attendant stepped closer to her and examined Amalia's overflowing bag that she bent under. "We also thought we'd give your present to you a little earlier than we wanted," Canar said with a slight pout. He then offered her the bag that Yugo could only guess was a heavensack. The eliatrope sighed.

Amalia gasped then grinned, bouncing despite the weight on her back. "Really? For me?"

"We wanted to finish decorating it since it only came in a few days ago," continued Canar, handing the gift over to the girl. Amalia took it with eager hands and took it over to her workbench.

"Well, I'm sure you have a lot of amazing plans for it," the princess said. She then turned back to them, folding her hands and beaming at them. She repeated her thanks several times in a row.

Renate held up a hand. "Princess, I do think you should be cautious when you meet with the king and the prince," he said. The princess ceased her beaming. Yugo also frowned, partly afraid to think what King Oakheart would probably do him because, after all, the eliatrope was the young man that had came back with her and would be sweeping her off into another adventure. _In his eyes,_ Yugo added.

Amalia thought for a moment before shrugging. "I will just have to not touch the thorns," she said. "Papa and Armand can't change my mind, though, even if they threaten to cut my allowance or put me under castle-arrest."

Yugo on the other hand didn't feel as confident as she sounded. What would that mean for him and Adamaï? The castle dungeons at least. Maybe his title of Kingdom's Savior and Daughter's Cautious Friend could help a little, but probably only so much...

Adamaï snorted before jumping down from the bed. "Well, either way, we're going to have to prepare to go." He waved to Yugo to follow him.

"Er, right," agreed Yugo, leaving his chair and hurrying to join his brother. The two exited the room and began marching to their quarters.

Yugo looked down at his brother as the dragon clicked his tongue. "Yugo, we might as well just let her come with."

The eliatrope raised his eyebrows. "Why do you say that?"

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" the dragon mused. With a half-glower from his brother, Adamaï explained, "Bro, you know better than me that she's as stubborn as a bwork. You might as well not argue it."

"What about Mattan?"

"I know a few spells that will help out," he said, twirling his forefinger in the air. "Besides, I'm sure Armand is a more capable fighter than Amalia."

"True," Yugo admitted, looking away. "Still, that brings us back to the point that she'll-"

"She'll argue that she's more than capable and she has her bodyguard." Adamaï paused before adding, in a flat tone, "Or that we're pointing out were 'not strong enough' to keep an eye on her." He scowled at the very thought of the princess saying such a thing.

Yugo frowned. That was all true. If they were lucky, King Oakheart or Prince Armand could possibly talk or threaten her out of going, but he doubted that it would deter the princess any. Sighing, the eliatrope slouched forward. "Fine."

Adamaï nodded. "Thanks for saving us from some of the drama."

* * *

"So, Amalia, you want to go out with Yugo—just after you returned home—to make sure one of your visions does not come true?" asked Armand, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow. When Amalia confirmed this with a confident look, he looked over at Yugo and Adamaï. The brothers nodded. The prince turned his scrutinizing eyes back to his little sister. "The vision that some monster attacks the world and that eleven figures have something to do with it? As well as two young eliatropes that somehow come through from their realm to our world?"

Again, Amalia confirmed this. Again, the brothers backed her up.

"And we can assume this because a child like this-" He waved to Mattan, who stood behind Yugo and peered at the prince from his hiding place. "-is capable of using an item that a full grown xelor could barely control?"

"Something like that," admitted Yugo with a shrug.

Adamaï retorted, "Can I remind you that Yugo and I were only thirteen when we used the Eliacube?"

"And-" began Armand, but the king placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

King Oakheart looked towards Mattan. "It is troubling that a vision like that and a young eliatrope come at such a time. Normally, it would be easy to brush this all aside, but such a coincidence shouldn't be taken lightly." The king closed his eyes. "For now we have to be aware of what could be going on, especially with another eliatrope child out there somewhere." His solemn silence made Yugo worry.

"I came alone, though," Mattan said, stepping out from behind Yugo. He looked down and frowned. "But I think my sister will come after me."

Armand and King Oakheart looked at each other. "Why did you come?" asked the king.

The boy looked up at the king. "I wanted to see Yugo and Adamaï."

Yugo exhaled.

"And the Eliacube?" demanded Armand.

Mattan shrunk back and frowned. "You're like my sister," he muttered.

Amalia cleared her throat. "He said he didn't know where it was," explained the princess. "Armand, we'll need you to make sure no one takes him." They had already explained about the earlier events with the magical statue, so Adamaï continued from there.

The dragon drew a circle of draconian runes in the air before they separated into five forms. Four of them etched on leaves from the king's throne while the other formed a ring around Mattan's wrist. Adamaï explained that the spell was an anti-kidnapping boundary. It would alert the dragon and the sadida king and temporarily stun the kidnapper if anyone tried taking Mattan out of the kingdom. "Just as a precaution if something passes the guards," he said. "Put the leaves at the boundaries of the city and if anyone passes it, the spell will activate."

"The extra precaution is welcomed," Armand grumbled. He then waved for a few guards to take the leaves and passed on the instructions to them. Once the guards left, he turned back to Amalia.

For a few moments, the room sat in dead silence. Then, the king coughed. "So, you are leaving

with Yugo and Adamaï."

Amalia nodded, her face just as straight as when she faced her brother. Yugo, looking at her from the corner of his eye, couldn't believe her ability to hold her composure. When the king turned to Yugo, the eliatrope hardly held his own. Perspiration covered his hands as he tried standing up as straight as he could. He too nodded.

"You just came back," Armand began. "The Tree of Life-"

"Don't be gone for so long. Please wait until tomorrow before you disembark," said the king. He didn't even try hiding his displeased frown.

Amalia nodded, a small smile crossing her face.

Enzot bowed. "Your Highness, I promise that she will remain protected."

The king nodded before dismissing them.

As Yugo left the throne room with Adamaï, Enzot, Amalia, and Mattan, he couldn't help but think that it was a little too easy convincing the king to let him go. Wouldn't the king try to argue for his daughter not to leave so suddenly? Then, a thought struck him. Amalia had left the castle many times, with or without her father's permission. Somewhere along the way, he probably had decided that it was a lost cause to try and keep her from going.

He looked down, his hood-ears drooping slightly. Adamaï looked up at Yugo but said nothing.

So, the group continued in silence, ready to rest the night and focus on their adventure with a loose goal.

* * *

The ecaflip woman woke up in the cavern, just where she had been when she had cast the spell. Faint wisps of metallic smells tickled her nostrils. A soft sting pickled her arms as she sat up. She removed the loose, red-streaked sleeves from her arms. Long and shallow cuts covered her forearms. Streams of dried blood covered her arms.

Her ears twitched when she heard the movement of some pebbles behind her. Looking back, she saw the feca man illuminated by the ball of light in his left hand. She bowed so low that her head nearly touched the ground. "Master, the spell worked."

She couldn't see the look on her master's face, but she could feel the solemn look boring into her head. Her tail curled around her folded legs. "As it should, Valoi," he finally said. The ecaflip's tail uncurled a little.

For several long moments, the two remained in still silence. Then, the woman hesitantly said, "I believe I have found the white dragon."

"You _believe_?" repeated her master. Valoi remained motionless, waiting for his answer. She heard the tapping of his foot. A good sign.

Slowly, she raised her head and her eyes kept down-turned. "Master, I can collect him and the child with the spell."

"Not a wise idea," the feca man said. "By now, the white dragon has fled and has put a protective charm around the boy." The ecaflip heard him rise and step over to her form, kicking away the pebbles with every step. He bent down just as Valoi turned her head down. He flipped back her hood and grabbed the back of her cloak, pulling her to her feet. "It would be better if we find the little dragon rather than locating the white one."

"Of course, Master."

It was another moment of silence before either of them said anything. The feca grabbed one of her arms and turned it over. He hissed in disgust, dropping her arm. "Heal yourself," he commanded. "I do _not_ want you wasting our resources for something so trivial." He wiped his hand off on his cloak.

Valoi nodded, but her voice wavered as she said, "Yes, Master."

The feca said nothing for several long minutes. The hardness in his tone disappeared as he began speaking, "The pieces will come into our hands, just as we were promised." He folded his hands behind his back, turning away from the woman. "Just as the gods permit."

"I can retrieve any piece-" Valoi began, ears folded back and hands folded into each other, but her master turned to her quickly.

"You will be given your role in due time," he said, his voice like lead balls dropping onto steal. "Even someone like you has a duty to the gods. Do not ask more of it."

She bowed. "I talked out of turn."

The feca nodded. "Go and look for the little dragon. We will have a need of those statues for later, so find him yourself."

Without another word, the ecaflip bowed again. She raised her hood over her head before leaving. "May the gods look over you." Her master said nothing. She excused herself, leaving the feca alone.

He, too, left the cavern. The feca ascended a flight of stairs into the torch-lit stone corridors, shaking off the ugly dampness of the underground. The fowl stench, however, lingered on him. The invisible stains clung to his cloak. As he walked through the archways, the feca man contemplated the best way to wash the filth away.

_Wait for the moment._ That was all he could do.

"Master Moreau!" shouted a young voice. The feca looked down the hall a young boy dressed in black and a short cloak race over to him. Moreau turned to the child as the boy bowed low.

"Yes, young one?" he asked, gazing down at him.

The sram child stood at full height, staring up at the master without the slightest fear. "One of the field agents sent word that one of the plans was sabotaged."

The feca stood in silence. The boy waited for so long that he began shifting his weight from foot to foot. Finally, Moreau spoke, his voice slow, "Have him report to me early tomorrow, young one. You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir." The boy bowed again. Moreau dipped his head. The boy ran back down the hallway, de-materializing into the shadows to deliver the message.

Moreau disappeared down the hall, his footsteps echoing. All he could do now was wait.

**Chapter 3: End.**

**Well, a new chapter out! I have to say, things are coming together nicely, albeit slow as it may seem. The title is semi-inspired by the Lost Boys from _Peter Pan_ and any of its adaptions since, well, Embrumb is more or less a Neverland-like place. And Mattan is literally lost.**

**Also, a forewarning: the rating is jumping up to T to be safe. I've realized that some of the show's adult humor is leaking into the later chapters in not so subtle manners. And then there are my future plans for this story, which are a little more brutal than what is expected on any children's programming, despite where the show comes from.**

**So, I do hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned!**


End file.
